Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
LUCAS
Morning came without a sunrise, or at least one I could see.
The teachers’ lounge had no windows, just a wall clock that ticked too loudly and a fluorescent light that highlighted the exhaustion of the room’s occupants.
None of the students had slept even though I’d encouraged them to. They’d suggested a rotating shift to monitor the barricaded door. I’d agreed, if only to make them feel better, even though I had no intention of sleeping.
Leaving our security to teenagers wasn’t something I was prepared to do.
Although I suppose that made me a hypocrite because I didn’t mind choking one and almost cumming in my pants.
The sounds from the hallway all night were the stuff of nightmares. Growls and dragging, the occasional sound of animals fighting—made even more terrifying because there were no animals in the school.
My phone buzzed once in my hand.
On the way.
The signal dropped again before I could reply.
I didn’t know if it meant he was already close—or if the message had clawed its way through minutes ago.
The five students with me were spread out across the room. Ethan sat on the floor with his knees pulled up, Lila sitting beside him with her head on his shoulder. Her face was dry now, eyes hollow, grief packed so tight inside her it had nowhere to go.
Sometime during the night, the noise had changed.
The shrieks and pounding had thinned, replaced by long stretches of nothing—then sudden movement. Footsteps, strange clicks, and the sound of sniffling at the lounge door like an animal on a scent. But even that had stopped a little while ago.
I kept thinking about the fifty students in the gym—football players, cheerleaders, and at least one of my colleagues. Was anyone else able to escape besides us?
I stood slowly and pressed my ear to the door.
Nothing.
I slowly removed the paper I’d taped over the window in the door.
Leaning closer, I was careful not to let my shadow cross it.
The glass was thick and threaded with wire, but it still showed just enough of the hallway beyond to make my stomach knot.
Movement flickered past once, too fast to track, then disappeared.
“What are you doing, Mr. Rowen?” Ethan stood and gazed over my shoulder.
“Just checking things out,” I reassured him. “I stopped hearing the noises about an hour ago.”
“We need to get out of here.” He ran a nervous hand through his hair. “I’m worried about my parents. Mom was sick when I left yesterday with the flu.”
I winced.
Based on what I’d observed, his mom was likely already one of the infected, but I didn’t have the heart to tell him that.
Lane, another football player, spoke up, “I need to get home too. My twin sisters are there with my dad, who’s sick. My mom is working out of town.”
This sickness everyone had wasn’t the flu. That was more than clear at this point. It was something else.
“Let me check things out. Maybe, they’ve all left the building.” I didn’t really believe it.
They helped me remove the barrier, and I was halfway through the doorway when Ethan hissed, “Mr. Rowen—”
I froze.
At the far end of the hall, something shifted. A figure stepped into view, then stopped. Its head tilted, as if listening.
“Back,” I whispered. “Slowly…step…back.”
We moved as one, slow and silent, easing into the lounge and shutting the door. A face appeared in the small window—cheek torn open, eyes cloudy, and its mouth working soundlessly.
It raised its hand and struck the window.
“Fuck,” Ethan gasped in horror. “That’s Aaron.”
The window held, but the sound rang through the room like a bell.
More shapes crowded the other side.
“They see us,” Lila whimpered.
Jonah and Grace, the other two students in the room, were frozen in terror, crouching under the table.
The infected slammed into the door hard enough to rattle the hinges. Then another impact—much stronger.
“Help me!” I started shoving the table back into place, heart pounding.
Ethan and Lane helped until the entire barricade was back in place.
I stepped back slowly and secured the paper back over the window. Whatever was out there didn’t need to see us to know we were here, but it made me feel better.
Another thud.
Then silence.
That was somehow worse because we had no way to know where they were except by looking out the window. And the students in the room were bordering on hysterical; they’d really lose their shit if I lifted the paper from the window again.
“I’m sorry, boys. We’re staying, for now.” I looked at Ethan and Lane. “We can’t chance it. Help should be here soon.” God, how I hoped it was true. “We have food. Water. A solid door between us and danger.”
Ethan nodded his head, but Lane looked annoyed.
“Fine,” he muttered. “But if help doesn’t come—”
“We’ll revisit leaving then,” I said, comfortingly.
Outside, something scraped slowly down the door.
We couldn’t stay here forever, but ensuring the safety of five students alone wasn’t something I wanted to do unless I had no other choice.
I knew the moment I stepped back into the room that something was wrong.
“Where the hell is Lane?”
I’d been in the bathroom for a whole five fucking minutes.
No one responded, but Ethan remained by the door with arms crossed and a clenched jaw. Lila sat stiffly at the table, guilt evident on her face. The other two students were sprawled on the floor, sleeping on couch cushions. At least they seemed innocent.
“Who opened the door?” I growled.
Lila flinched. “He had to get to his sisters—” she started.
“We all saw why that wasn’t a good idea.” I cut in.
Silence pressed down hard.
“It’s been hours, and we haven’t heard anything.” Lila gestured toward the door. “And Ethan and Lane both checked the hallway before he left.”
“What about after he leaves this section of the school? We don’t know anything about those things. Is sound a trigger? Smell? All of the above? What the hell is he going to face in town?” They both looked horrified at my rapid-fire questions. “You endangered yourselves and the rest of us.”
Ethan finally spoke. “He was already going. What were we supposed to do—tackle him?”
Always the smartass.
“Yes,” I said flatly. “If that door had been overrun, you would either be dead or joining the monsters in the hallway.”
Lila’s voice trembled, “He was really set on going, and I didn’t want him to lose his sisters like I lost Jerry.” She put her face in her hands and started sobbing.
My shoulders drooped. “I understand that, but it’s way too dangerous out there for him to chance it alone.”
Ethan looked away.
I took the fire extinguisher from the wall, wishing desperately that I had a gun.
“Where are you going?” Lila asked frantically.
“I have to see if Lane made it out.” I set the paper aside and looked out the window but saw no movement.
“I’ll go with you.” Ethan grabbed a steak knife from the utensil drawer in the lounge’s kitchen.
“Hell no! I don’t need to worry about more than one of you at a time,” I growled, still pissed that he’d let Lane go.
“I can help.” He stood tall and puffed out his chest.
I rolled my eyes. He was a big guy, but mentally probably only about twelve.
“Please don’t go, Ethan! I don’t want to be here alone,” Lila begged, her eyes glassy with tears.
“You’re not alone.” He argued.
She glanced at the two students still asleep amid the chaos. “They’re freshmen. What can they do?”
“You could feed them to the monsters while you get away,” Ethan smirked.
“This is pointless. I’m going alone,” I told the little shit. “Lock the door until I get back but keep an eye out for me. I might be coming in hot.”
“Fine, but if you’re not back in ten minutes, I'll come looking for you," he huffed.
I was done arguing. If the boy was eaten, it would probably save me a lot of aggravation.
After double-checking that the coast was clear, I cracked the door and stepped out cautiously.
I headed toward the office, assuming Lane would likely have gone toward the front doors. Most of the lights were off, leaving only a few that cast eerie shadows on the walls. I moved slowly, trying to be as quiet as possible.
I found him a few minutes later, pressed against a row of lockers.
He looked beyond grateful to see me. “She came out of nowhere,” he whispered. “I didn’t hear her.”
I turned quickly and gasped when I saw Brooke Aldridge, Taryn’s minion, standing several feet down the hall, blocking the exit.
She was barely recognizable. Her torn cheerleading top revealed mottled skin on one shoulder, and one arm hung limply as she moved toward us. Her mouth opened and closed silently, and her cloudy gaze flickered between Lane and me.
“Fuck,” Lane mumbled voice filled with fear.
As she got closer, she sped up, her movements jerky and wrong. She raised her head as if sniffing the air and made the clicking sound I was becoming familiar with.
I stepped forward as she moved into range. The fire extinguisher struck her head, the impact dull and final, caving in her skull. She went down hard, her body jerking once before going still.
I gazed at her for a moment, overwhelmed and in shock. It was hard to believe that a student I saw every day could be gone because of me. The only solace I found was remembering that whatever she was, it wasn’t human.
Lane slid down the lockers, hands shaking.
“I’ve known her since kindergarten,” His voice shook. “This whole situation is fucked.”
“I know,” there was nothing else to say.
Lane wiped his hands on his jeans, then slowly stood. “I need to get to my family.”
I didn’t argue. There was no point.
“Stay close to me.”
We moved cautiously, sticking close to the walls and listening carefully between each step. The school seemed unfamiliar—like a place we hadn’t been every day for years.
The front office doors came into view.
Sunlight streamed through the glass, feeling bright and different after being under fluorescent lights. The parking lot outside was quiet, with only the cars abandoned by their owners still in it.
“This is as far as I go,” I said softly.
Lane nodded, eyes shining. “Thank you.”
“Stay quiet. Avoid open spaces. If you hear anything—hide. Don’t try to be a hero.”
He hesitated, then pulled me into a quick, desperate hug.
I patted his back awkwardly, “Stay safe out there.”
Lane let go, then turned to open the door. “Shit!”
“What’s wrong?”
“The door won’t open!” He whispered urgently, pushing the door harder.
“Let me look.” I peered out the windows to the side of the double doors. “The doors are chained! Dammit!”
“I need out of here!” Lane whisper shouted as he started to push the doors again.
I grabbed his arm. “Don’t. The noise will draw them. We’ll find another way.”
He began looking around frantically to see if we’d already blown it. His breathing became so erratic that I was worried he would pass out.
I grabbed his face and spoke slowly, trying to calm him. “We’re fine. Let’s check the door in the auto shop.”
He stared into my eyes for a few moments before nodding and taking a deep breath. “Okay.”
We gradually moved toward the auto shop, following the brightest hallways. I wasn’t sure if they were sensitive to light, but it seemed fitting that monsters like them would be.
I knew that door was half hidden behind a dumpster, so hopefully whoever chained us in missed it.
Finally, we reached the auto shop. Luckily, the door from the hallway was locked, so I used my keys to open it. We remained cautious even though none of the students would’ve been able to get in.
“Hold your breath,” I told Lane before I pushed on the door leading outside.
It opened with no problem.
“Thank God.” Lane let out a sigh of relief.
“Tell whoever chained the fucking door that there are still students trapped in here who aren’t infected.” I grabbed his arm before he could rush off.
“Yes, sir, Mr. Rowen.” He nodded, “I’ll do that before I go home.”
“Good man.” As soon as the door shut behind him, I started back to the lounge.
Suddenly, the clicking rose from deeper in the halls—low and spreading. Footsteps. Too many.
“Shit,” I murmured, then ran.
They poured from classrooms and stairwells we’d passed minutes earlier without seeing a soul. One lunged for me near the science wing, fingers grazing my sleeve. Another shrieked, sharp and piercing.
The lounge door was just ahead.
“Open the door, Ethan!” I yelled.
I was at full speed and misjudged the turn, momentum carrying me past the door by inches.
Panic flared. I twisted back, boots skidding, and caught the doorjamb with one hand, fingers screaming as I hauled myself sideways.
The window blurred inches from my face as something crashed behind me.
I slammed into the opening, barely fitting through, and felt hands grab my jacket and drag me inside just as the door ripped shut.
I dropped to the floor as Ethan quickly replaced the barrier.
I lay there for a moment, my lungs on fire.
“Lane made it.” I gasped hoarsely.
“Way to go, bro.” Ethan, the idiot, leaned down trying to give me a knuckle bump.
“Fuck off,” I growled.
Ethan’s mouth dropped open as the other three students gasped.
I didn’t give two fucks. The chance of my being reprimanded ended when I was suspended. Not to mention, all the staff turning into flesh-eating infected.
The pounding stopped.
I hoped Adrian would come soon.
If the infected didn’t kill us, I might commit suicide from being confined indefinitely with five teenagers.
I thought of Taryn… If I were locked up with her, that might be a different matter. I’d spank that ass, then make her beg me for forgiveness.
If I were going to be accused of it, I might as well reap the benefit.